Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Rick Astley Loved ‘Ted Lasso’ Using His Most Famous Song In An Emotional Way

Ted Lasso has certainly gotten people talking lately about its second season, with critics skeptical about the show’s change in direction. The social media backlash even inspired a response from showrunner Bill Lawrence. Despite that, the show has cleaned up in the awards lately, with 10 Emmy wins and a near-sweep of the comedy categories at last week’s awards.

One of those award-winners, Hannah Waddingham, has also gotten rave reviews in the show’s most recent episode. Fresh off the heels of a wild post-Emmys party for the cast, Waddingham stole the show in an episode that dropped on Friday, which featured her delivering a touching performance of a song that’s usually treated as a joke. Some mild spoilers ahead here, but what happened on Friday has gotten even Rick Astley raving about the show.

In a pivotal moment in “No Weddings And A Funeral,” Waddingham’s Rebecca sang Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” — not as a Rick-Roll gag but as a touching tribute at a funeral. The moment was widely praised. And as it turns out, Astley himself is among those who loved it.

“You did an amazing, incredible job. And it was so emotional and so incredible,” Astley said in a video he posted to Twitter on Saturday. “People have said that even they cried in the church scene. I don’t want to give too much away…”

Astley trailed off, looking a bit emotional before he said that he “didn’t cry.” But he praised Waddingham’s effort in the scene and the impact it had on him.

“Just amazing. Thank you very much for including that song in your beautiful show,” Astley said. “I’m blown away. Just fantastic.”

Waddingham was blown away by the video, but made sure to DM Astley instead of “fangirl in public” on Twitter.

Some members of the show were blown away by Astley’s response, too.

Astley said he didn’t cry watching it, but it’s clear that many did. And after all the weird ways Astley’s biggest hit has become changed by pop culture, this one certainly is for the better.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Coldplay And BTS Share A Documentary About Their New Collaboration, ‘My Universe’

After teasing the record for a few weeks, Coldplay and BTS released their endearing collaboration, “My Universe,” this past Friday. It’s a record that came about after Coldplay took a trip to South Korea to work with the K-pop superstars. To show exactly what that recording process looked like, Coldplay and BTS unveiled a new documentary that gives fans an exclusive look to the recording process behind the song and how both artists felt about the collaboration as it came to life.

“About 18 months ago, I got a message from somebody. They said, ‘BTS want to do a song with you,’” Coldplay’s Chris Martin says at the beginning of the documentary. “And I said, ‘How would that work?’ I didn’t understand how that could be possible.” He continued, “My friend said the phrase ‘my universe’ one day and I wrote down ‘my universe’ — I thought that’s a cool title. Then I took it to my friend and said, ‘OK, let’s do this demo for BTS.’”

The film also captures the groups meeting each other for the first time. During that conversation, BTS labeled Coldplay as the “king of stadium tours,” a “role model” and a “great influence.” Prior to the documentary’s arrival, Martin shared how much he enjoyed working with BTS.

“I love them, and we love them, and it’s been such a joy. It’s something you could look at so cynically, and we have at times, but anytime there’s actual communication or music between us, it just feels so good,” he said during an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “So, I unabashedly and unashamedly feel really grateful for the song, grateful for the person that inspired the song, and grateful for the people we sing it with.”

You can watch the documentary for “My Universe” in the video above.

Coldplay is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Machine Gun Kelly Was Booed And Flipped Off During His Performance At The Louder Than Life Festival

Machine Gun Kelly has certainly had his high moments this year. The rapper-turned-rocker recently performed “Papercuts” with Travis Barker at the 2021 MTV VMAs where he also took home an award for Best Alternative Song thanks to “My Ex’s Best Friend,” MGK’s collaboration with Blackbear. He also announced his sixth album, Born With Horns , which will also be produced by Travis Barker.

With that being said, MGK has also endured his fair share of controversial moments in 2021 and the latest came during his Louder Than Life festival when fans booed and flipped him off during his set. There was seemingly nothing in particular that MGK did during the performance to upset fans, but seeing that the festival is one filled with rockers, this moment could have to do with MGK and Slipknot’s Corey Taylor’s growing beef, which began when Taylor expressed his distaste for MGK.

“I hate everything. I hate all new rock for the most part,” Taylor said. “I [hate] the artists who failed in one genre and decided to go rock — and I think he knows who he is. But that’s another story.”

MGK shot back and mocked Taylor during his Riot Festival performance.

“Hey, you wanna know what I’m really happy that I’m not doing? Being 50 years old and wearing a f*cking weird mask on a f*cking stage.” MGK later added that Taylor delivered a verse for his Tickets To My Downfall album, but it was left off because “it was f*cking terrible.”

Taylor then returned to deny the singer’s claim and he provided evidence to prove that MGK was wrong. He shared a pair of screenshots that captured a conversation between Barker and Taylor in which the former says he and MGK “love” the song, which turned out to be “Can’t Look Back,” and proposed a few changes to improve the record. In response, Taylor politely steped away from the collaboration, noting that he felt like he wasn’t the “right guy for the track.”

You can watch a video of MGK receiving boos and middle fingers here.

Slipknot is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Gus Johnson Went Crazy On A 109-Yard Kick Six By The Jaguars After Arizona Tried A 68-Yard Field Goal

A week ago, Gus Johnson made his return to the NFL booth in an absolutely wild game between the Vikings and Cardinals that ended with him going crazy over a missed game-winner by Minnesota.

On Sunday, Gus was back on the call for Fox and again had the Cardinals, this time in Jacksonville against the, up til Sunday, hapless Jaguars. Jacksonville actually played well in the first half, tying the game at 7-7 late on a dime from Trevor Lawrence to DJ Chark with under 30 seconds to play. The Cardinals got the ball back and worked it to midfield with two seconds left and decided they would trot Matt Prater, who made a 62-yarder last week (indoors), out for a 68-yard attempt at the half.

Well, this time Prater came up short and Jamal Agnew was stationed under the goal posts in the end zone for a possible return. What followed was pure Gus magic.

That is an elite-tier Gusgasm, as Agnew somehow weaves through the Cardinals kicking unit on his way to the end zone, while Gus steadily gets more and more excited about the possibility of a 109-yard return before erupting once he clears the last Cardinal. It is a reminder of why most teams don’t let their kicker go out and try a 68-yard attempt because the risk of disaster is far greater than the reward of three possible points — either by way of a return or from a block.

Kliff Kingsbury and the Cardinals learned this lesson the hard way and now find themselves in the rather embarrassing position of being in real danger of giving Urban Meyer and the Jaguars their first win of the season.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Washington’s Kicker Recovered An Accidental Onside Kick 50 Yards Downfield Against The Bills

The weather in Buffalo can, at times, become as big of a factor in Bills games as anything happening on the field, as winds can really gust up and wreak havoc on passes and kicks.

Sometimes this is to the Bills advantage, because they’re more accustomed to those conditions, but at times it can even play tricks on them as we saw on Sunday. Up 21-7 in the second quarter, the Bills were set to receive a kickoff from the Football Team when the wind picked up and began playing tricks on the ball, which floated backwards as it came down, blowing away from the return man. The ball bounces, becoming a live ball, just as the coverage unit is crashing down the field and all hell breaks loose as it kicks around until, somehow, the kicker recovers what became the weirdest onside kick of the year.

Obviously this wasn’t planned, but it wouldn’t surprise me if, into the wind, the kicker purposefully tried to put more air under it so it would be harder for the return man. This was the ideal outcome and it helped the Football Team score a second touchdown in a row to suddenly make it a game after Buffalo had run out to an early lead. The lesson, as always, is to field the ball on a kickoff no matter what and, for the coverage team, to always bust it down the field because if this happens, you can get a big time play for your team.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Andre 3000 Went With Big Boi To Watch His Son, Cross Patton, Play For Oregon

For over a decade, hip-hop fans have been hoping that Outkast will get back together to make new music. There have been brief reunions to tour or do one-off shows, but for the most part, Andre 3000 seems content to pursue his new passions in music, art, and film, while Big Boi continues to put out albums and tour with Sleepy Brown.

While new Outkast music may remain simply a dream for many rather than a reality, we can take solace in the fact that the two legendary artists remain close friends, even as they’ve moved on to separate ventures. That’s not always the case when groups go their own ways after a long time together, but it is truly heartwarming to see how Big Boi and Andre 3000 continue to support each other and their families.

On Saturday night, we saw the latest instance of this when a photo from a pair of Oregon fans went viral of Big Boi and Three Stacks sitting together at the Ducks game against Arizona in Eugene, cheering on Big Boi’s son, Cross Patton, who plays for Oregon.

There is real joy in seeing the two members of Outkast still hanging out and supporting each other’s kids at games and graduations.

That’s real friendship as you get older and, whether we ever get new music or not, it’s cool to see they haven’t lost that connection.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Houston Rockets 2021-22 Preview: The Dawn Of A New Era

The 2020-21 season was almost over before it started for the Houston Rockets. From the downbeat of the season, rumors were flying that James Harden wanted out of Houston and, in short order, he was moved to Brooklyn for a future-facing package of assets. That kicked off what would become a 17-55 season but, in a wild thing to remember, Houston actually opened with an 11-10 record before losing 45 of the final 52 contests.

A lot has changed in Houston within 12 months, and that includes the addition of an intriguing pool of rookies, headlined by No. 2 pick Jalen Green. The Rockets still have a few veterans and returning youngsters as well, and they enter another rebuilding year as the 2021-22 campaign begins.

Roster:

D.J. Augustin
Armoni Brooks
Josh Christopher
Dante Exum
Usman Garuba
Eric Gordon
Jalen Green
Danuel House
Matthew Hurt
Anthony Lamb
K.J. Martin Jr.
Daishen Nix
David Nwaba
Kevin Porter Jr.
Alperen Sengun
Jae’Sean Tate
Daniel Theis
Khyri Thomas
John Wall
Christian Wood

Projected Vegas Win Total: 27.5 wins

Biggest Addition: Jalen Green

Green is going to be a lot of fun. After one season with G League Ignite, Green was the No. 2 pick and he flashed his robust offensive skill package at the Las Vegas Summer League. Of course, the regular season is much different than Summer League, but Green is now the centerpiece of the franchise, and he will be given a lot of responsibility from the jump. It may not be pretty for 82 games, simply because of how rookie develop, but Green should showcase his upside and provide entertainment and intrigue.

Biggest Loss: Kelly Olynyk

Houston didn’t lose all that much, but Olynyk was good for them when he arrived. It was only 27 games, but Olynyk averaged 19 points and eight rebounds per game for the Rockets, posting a ludicrous 67 percent true shooting mark on the way. He didn’t make a ton of sense in the short term with Houston’s rebuilding effort underway, but the Rockets will at least miss what he was giving them.

Biggest Question: What happens with John Wall?

All indications are that the Rockets and John Wall will part ways at some point, but we don’t know when. Wall is making more than $40 million per season and, while he could certainly contribute to Houston, the team isn’t in a win-now mode and they have young guards to develop. The issue is that Wall is extremely difficult to trade, particularly when the Rockets are seemingly entrenched in a mode in which they will not attach picks to move his salary. It might be a long waiting game.

What Makes This Season A Success

Green, Christian Wood, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba, Josh Christopher, Jae’Sean Tate, and Kevin Porter look like pieces to build around. Those are the pieces that matter for the Rockets. Everything should be focused on the development of the young guys, with Wood emerging as the team’s best player in the short term and a potential long-term building block. Houston will also want to lose games to make their own draft pick as high as possible.

What Makes This Season A Failure:

Short of winning too many games for lottery purposes, the worst thing that the Rockets could do is to block their young guys with minutes for players who won’t be around a few years from now. There is always some of that in play, but Houston should be mindful to avoid it. From there, it wouldn’t be great if Green, Sengun, Garuba, or Christopher really flopped out of the gate, or if Porter stumbled after steps forward last season.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

The Jaguars Mascot Continues To Risk His Life For The Team And Deserves Better

The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the worst franchises in the NFL, with their main competition for the title of absolute worst being the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans. They have very few redeeming qualities at the moment, and while there is hope that Trevor Lawrence can eventually drag them to respectability, right now the undisputed best part of the franchise is their mascot, Jaxson de Ville.

No one is more dedicated to their duties as a mascot more than Jaxson, who risks life and limb to do the one thing the football team cannot do: bring joy to the people of Jacksonville. On Sunday, this meant trying to get the sparse crowd fired up for a game in which they were more than a touchdown underdogs at home against Arizona, so they did a got damn backflip off a light tower and then ziplined down to the field on a bungee cord.

The Jaguars as a franchise do not deserve this level of commitment from their mascot when I’m not sure there’s a single member of the football operations staff, including the players, that can match it. Until they win a game, Jaxson should be given Urban Meyer’s salary because at least he is excelling at his job.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Ana Navarro Got Personal With Don Jr. After His Tasteless Joke About Positive COVID Cases On ‘The View’

Tomi Lahren has already tried (and largely failed) to dunk on members of The View for testing positive for coronavirus ahead of an interview with Kamala Harris, but Donald Trump Jr. is certainly familiar with following in failed footsteps and tried his hand at it again this weekend.

What followed, of course, is the son of the twice-impeached president getting a quick reply from The View host Ana Navarro that offered a taste of his own medicine regarding his own once-COVID-sickened father. The daytime talk show devolved into chaos on Friday when two co-hosts, Navarro and Sunny Hostin, learned live on air that they were positive ahead of an interview with the current vice president.

Later in the weekend, Trump Jr. tried to weight-shame members of the cast in the wake of the positive tests by making a tasteless joke about comorbidities.

“Given the Ana Navarro news, I think it’s time for a national conversation about the dangers of Covid-19 & obesity,” Trump Jr. tweeted.

But Navarro wasn’t having it, responding to the tweet with a scathing reply that wasn’t exactly funny, but probably hurt a bit more given how personal it got.

“Fortunately for you, if you want to have a conversation about the effects of obesity on people with COVID, your dad is a phone call away…assuming he answers your calls,” Navarro said. “Or just ask your sister to call him for you.”

Trump, of course, needed experimental therapies to save his life after his oxygen levels dipped to dangerously low levels and he was rushed to Walter Reed in Washington last October after contracting the extremely deadly disease. Meanwhile, Navarro tweeted on Saturday that she had gotten a third negative test, which likely means she’s already in the clear.

What’s important is that Navarro is healthy and didn’t seem to experience any adverse effects thanks to her vaccination and routine testing on the show. And while Trump Jr. was trying to be smug about a “national conversation” regarding coronavirus it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Despite widespread vaccine availability, according to the New York Times more than 2,000 people died from COVID-19 again on Saturday, the vast majority of them unvaccinated.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Golden State Warriors 2021-22 Season Preview: Are They Still Elite?

Last year’s Golden State Warriors were in a holding pattern. With no Klay Thompson and an otherwise lacking roster, the team was stuck waiting for this year. The end result was losing in the play-in tournament to the Lakers and the Grizzlies and going home well before they are accustomed to.

Was it a sign of a new era of Warriors basketball, or a second unlucky year in a row after Curry only played five games in 2019-20? This year is the year that question gets answered.

Roster:

Stephen Curry
Klay Thompson
Draymond Green
Andrew Wiggins
James Wiseman
Otto Porter Jr.
Moses Moody
Jonathan Kuminga
Nemanja Bjelica
Jordan Poole
Kevon Looney
Juan Toscano-Anderson
Gary Payton II
Damion Lee
Mychal Mulder
Chris Chiozza

Projected Vegas Win Total: 48.5

Biggest Additions: Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga

Beyond Klay Thompson, who returns from injury, Golden State added two more young pieces in the draft in Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga. It’s unclear how much either will play, but they give Steve Kerr younger, more athletic options in the rotation if he decides the team needs some juice. The Warriors also brought back Andre Igudoala, who is not what he was a few years ago, but is probably a lock to be in their playoff rotation if healthy.

Biggest Losses: Kent Bazemore, Eric Paschall

These are not major losses — neither would be a lock to be in the rotation where they on the roster this year. But with Bazemore and Paschall gone, it increases the likelihood of Moody and/or Kuminga seeing minutes this year. It’ll be interesting to see how much patience Kerr and the Warriors will have in getting those two (and James Wiseman, for that matter) minutes while trying to win now with Curry, Green, and Thompson.

Biggest Question: What can Klay Thompson offer after two seasons away?

There’s just no way around wondering what Thompson can give the Warriors as he comes back from achilles and ACL injuries. Thompson is 31, so he should still be in his athletic prime even if injuries have taken something away. But he’s coming off of two significant injuries that have kept him off the court for two years. That is going to have some impact on what he is and it’s impossible to know how big that impact will be until he plays games again.

If Thompson can come back and ramp back up the All-Star guy he was pre-injury, that’s the best case scenario. Even if he takes most of the year to get back and looks poised to fully bounce back in 2022-33, that’s an outcome Golden State can live with. But if Thompson has suffered a big slip at all — in terms of his defensive ability, his mobility, his ability to stay healthy — it’s going to limit how good the Warriors can be. He absolutely needs to be peak Thompson if the Warriors are going to make a serious title push.

What Makes This Season A Success: A deep playoff run. There’s no getting around this: It’s a deep playoff run/Finals appearance or bust for the Warriors. The time is now for Curry, Green, and Thompson. They maybe will have another few years left after this, but the entire core is on the wrong side of 30. They have to make a push now or it just might not happen again. If they can’t go far in the playoffs, there’s just nothing else that can make up for it.

What Makes This Season A Failure: An early playoff exit. See above. This year is all about winning in April, May, and June for Golden State. Nothing else really matters. At the same time, it’ll be a problem for the Warriors if their young pieces don’t develop at all this year. Even if Wiseman, Kuminga, and Moody don’t play significant roles this year, it’ll matter for the team’s long-term hopes if these players can take steps forward this year. That’s especially true for Wiseman, whose rookie year was disappointing and hampered by injury.